Is laser teeth whitening a gimmick to get more money out of you?

A dentist wrote (http://www.womens-health.com/boards/teeth/382-zoom-2-my-instant-whitening-experience-2.html): "I hate to burst anyone's bubble, the research on Zoom whitening by many respected dental researchers has shown that the light has absolutely no effect on teeth. The UV rays are dangerous. The whitening result that you are seeing is a mixture of a highly concentrated Hydrogen Peroxide and drying of the teeth. The light has absolutely nothing to do with it. It is purely a marketing tool that is sold to dentists. The burned lips are a direct result of the intense UV rays from the lamp.

These lights are sold because there is a demand for them. People don't want to spend two weeks whitening with trays, which is still the gold standard for professional tooth whitening. They want white teeth with no effort, and people fall for the advertising. What is sad is that some dentists still believe that the light actually has an effect."

I am not sure if he just means the Zoom whitening system or laser whitening in general.

Can someone qualified throw light on the issue?